You Can Trust Me
by TheWhiteWolf 2486
Summary: When Mitch goes looking for her in-laws she runs into Rick's group, and a certain redneck who brings up the unwanted memories of her haunting past. Faced with difficult decisions she has to make calls that will threaten not only her life, but the lives of those around her. Follows TWD storyline. Starts in episode 204, Cherokee Rose.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

IMMUNITY

Mitch drove slowly down the road that had led her to her in-laws house many times before, although the last time she had traveled the road the world hadn't ended yet and her fiancé had still been alive, thinking of him made her eyes water. She closed her eyes shook her head, and ran a hand through her short brown hair.

As she drew near to the dirt road that would lead her to Hershel's front door she braked, she didn't want to total her Firebird or risk flipping the trailer she towed behind it. As she slowly drove along the dirt road she looked in the rearview mirror at the dust billowing behind her. Mitch leaned down and flipped the switch that turned on the police lights she had installed in her car it seemed people were more welcoming at first if they thought you had authority.

Mitch was following a hunch, hundreds of miles away from her group and their safe-haven. She desperately hoped Hershel was still alive, and that she could get him to come with her. As she rounded the last turn she saw Hershel's house. Mitch felt nervousness in her, like she was getting into more than she could handle. She would have liked to be ignorant and believe that she had gone unseen, but it was hard to miss a 1968 Pontiac Firebird with flashing police lights, pulling a massive U-Haul trailer.

They probably heard her engine from five miles away with how loud it was, if Hershel was there he would be pissed that her loud car could draw in every walker in Georgia. As she drew near to the house she saw she had been right, there were several cars, tents, an RV. But most of all, there were people, at least a dozen all lining up in front of the house.

Mitch swallowed nervously and her police dog Sam whined loudly as she pulled into the clearing in front of the house and parked, letting her engine idle for a moment before turning it off.

"It's a good day to die." Mitch said softly to herself and her police dog Sam as she took off her seatbelt, opened the door, and got out of the car.

* * *

Daryl had just finished pitching his tent when he heard it, a rumble, quiet and probably a ways off. He ignored it as he gathered his stuff off his bike and moved it into the tent. After he finished setting it up he left the tent and grabbed his crossbow ready to set out and look for Sophia another day. He quickly noticed that the rumble he heard had gotten closer and louder.

"Ya hear that?" He yelled up to Dale on the top of the RV.

"You bet I do. Can't see anything yet though." He replied as he looked through his binoculars. Daryl scoffed at him as he started to walk off.

"Wait. I see it." Dale said as the rumble Daryl was hearing turned into a loud growl. Daryl stopped and looked up at Dale again.

"Well what the hell is it?" Daryl yelled up, annoyed at the older man.

"A car, black and…red. Police lights on top. Towin` a trailer or something." Dale replied.

"Fuck." Daryl growled as he stalked forward so he could see more clearly, and knocked an arrow on his crossbow.

"Hey. What do ya think you're doing?" Dale yelled down as he saw Daryl load his bow.

"That car might not be friendly…I ain't gonna take no chances." Daryl trailed off as Dale scampered down off the roof of his RV.

"Well it might not be an enemy either until we all go drawing on it." Dale said as he followed Daryl to the front of the house as the car was pulling up.

"Shut up and go back to sunbathin` on that RV old man." Daryl replied harshly as he watched the car pull up. It was an old muscle car probably late 60's, black with red flames on it and a massive engine with a supercharger. It was towing a large U-Haul trailer full of god knew what. Everyone was crowding around curious.

Daryl held his bow up ready to shoot at any moment, when the car turned off in the driveway. After a short moment the door opened and someone got out, he couldn't tell with the car door blocking his view but after she stepped out from behind the door he quickly dropped his bow.

Her hair was short, like Carol's just slightly longer, and styled into a sort of spiky messy look, brown with blonde tips. She wore all black, lace up combat boots, tight pants that hugged her legs, and a sleeveless shirt that hugged her curves and showed some cleavage. He quickly noticed the utility belt around her middle with three handguns, two grenades, and an array of other things he couldn't make out.

_Damn._ He thought to himself before he realized his mouth was hanging open. She clicked her tongue and a massive German Shepherd jumped out of the car and stood next to her as she flung the door shut with a loud clunk.

"Michelle!?" Maggie yelled as she ran off the porch and in front of Rick's group.

The woman shrugged and held up her arms, "Officer Miller at your service." She said with a smile as Maggie ran towards her, but the German Shepherd lunged forward and let out a snarl stopping her just feet from the woman-Mitch.

"Sam. Let off." the woman ordered and the dog quickly went and sat behind her.

"Dear God. What a dog." Maggie said as she came forward and hugged her.

"He's my partner…well…was before the world ended and we still had police." She replied. The rest of the group was moving forward cautiously, Hershel, and his family pushing to the front of Rick's group. Daryl made sure to stick in the back but listened to every word intently.

"You're alive." Hershel said loudly and happily.

"John?" Hershel asked, Daryl could hear that small glint of hope in his voice.

"I'm sorry Hershel…I wasn't there…I was deployed to Los Angelos…and…when I got back…" She trailed off as she looked at the ground.

"Oh God. I'm sorry Mitch." Hershel said as he stepped forward and they hugged.

"Don't worry, you were family then, you still are now." He said as he let go and patted her side lightly as he pulled away, causing her to pull back quickly and grab her side, almost falling to the ground, the doubling over and barely staying standing. Everyone took a step forward as if to catch her if she fell on her face.

"Are you ok?" Hershel asked concerned.

"Fine." She replied breathlessly as she slowly righted herself.

"What is it?" Hershel asked as he gently reached toward her side again, "I can fix it up for you.".

"It's nothing." She replied defensively as she backed away, a trace of fear in her eyes.

"No." Andrea said coldly as she quickly stepped forward lifted up that side of her shirt and ripped off the square patch covering her wounded side. He saw it instantly, a walker bite. He raised his bow back up quickly, although somewhat reluctantly.

"You got bit." Hershel said softly as he stepped forward to examine it, and Andrea flung the bandage on the ground disgusted before raising her gun.

"I'm fine." She replied as she stepped forward and Rick, Shane, and Daryl all stepped forward weapons raised.

"We've seen walker bites before. I'm not about to take that risk." Shane said loudly.

"Put down the guns." Hershel ordered. And reluctantly Rick, Shane, and Andrea holstered their guns.

"And crossbow." Hershel said and slowly Daryl lowered his weapon.

"Look Hershel. We need to talk. My group has seen this before, and it doesn't end well…" Rick trailed off as he looked from Hershel to Mitch.

"I am not going to allow your people to kill my daughter-in-law just because she's been attacked. She's my family. My group. Not yours." Hershel replied sternly to Rick.

"Come on. We'll get ya all fixed up." Hershel said to her as she started to follow him back to the house.

"Hershel, she got bit by a walker. Soon she'll have a fever, it'll get real bad and then she'll die. Then she'll come back as a walker…I can't take that kind of risk." Shane said as he blocked their path and raised his gun again.

"Shane. Let it go." Rick ordered, but Shane didn't listen.

"No man. If you're not gonna keep Lorrie and Carl safe then I gotta, and I will." Shane growled as he cocked his gun. Suddenly there was the sound of metal hitting metal and Shane's gun flew out of his hand and into the dirt several feet away. Daryl quickly spotted the source, the woman had pulled one of her guns and shot Shane's gun right out of his hand, the silencer on her gun making the sound of the bullet near silent.

"Look man. Don't go around acting like you know everything! I've seen bites too…hell I had to waste 6 months of my life at the CDC getting poked and prodded like some lab rat because I was one of the first people bitten! My brigade was one of the first sent out to contain the outbreak. And you know what else, I watched my friends…people that were as close to me as family die and come back to life around me! I had to watch them get put down when they came back! Don't even act like you're the only one who knows what this damn thing does!" She yelled getting in Shane's face, obviously not attempting to quell her anger.

"Wait…you've been bit before? So you're…" Rick trailed off as he stepped forward.

"Immune." Mitch finished his sentence for him.

"Then you have the cure!" Hershel exclaimed as he stepped forward.

"Hershel…It's not that simple. I'm a fluke of nature…I shouldn't even exist. If there was a cure in me the doctors at the CDC would have found it and made it." She replied as she looked over at him.

"But…the cure…your immunity…it's in your blood." Hershel replied.

"Hershel…This disease…it's not like the rest… it affects the brain. The cure is in here." She said as she pointed to her head. "It's not in my blood. I figured it out at the same time the CDC scientists did and I got the hell out of Dodge." She finished quietly, Daryl understood instantly, if what she was saying was true they would have killed her the second they realized that what they needed was her brain.

"Come on inside. We'll talk then." Hershel said softly as he placed his hand on her lower back and lead her inside the house.

"Do you really believe that shit Rick!?" Shane yelled as the door closed. "For all we know she could be lying out her ass, she's putting us all in risk!" Shane continued angrily.

"Shane, there's always been the few who are immune to something…every disease has immunities. Why would this one be any different. Hell, anyone of us could be immune and we wouldn't know it because we've never been bit." Dale said trying to reason with him.

Daryl quickly split off from the group not exactly jumping at joy for the chance to listen to them all quarrel like teenage girls. Besides he might as well make himself useful and go find Sophia.

Rick noticed him walking away and jogged over to him leaving the group to debate on its own for a moment.

"Daryl. You ok an your own?" Rick asked sounding concerned, which only pissed Daryl off, he was a grown man he could take care of himself.

"I'm better on my own! Don't worry I'll be back fore dark." He spit out harshly wanting Rick to crawl down out of his ass as he started to stalk forward again.

"Hey! We gotta base. We can get this search properly organized now." Rick yelled as he stepped forward slightly.

"You got a point? Or are we just chattin`?" Dary ground out as he stopped and turned to face Rick.

"My point, lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything." Rick replied quickly glancing back at the group as the debate began to turn into a match of who could yell the loudest.

"Other plans fall through." Daryl muttered just loud enough for Rick to hear before stalking forward, leaving Rick to watch the 'children'.

* * *

"Why don't you get it!? There's nothing I can do! Stop looking to me for the answer to all this! All you're doing is giving yourself false hope!" Mitch yelled at Hershel from the doorway before she slammed the wooden door shut, she noticed a man about her age with dark hair and a five o` clock shadow sitting on the white wooden bench off to the side of the porch looking at her slightly alarmed and confused, Hershel had said his name was Rick or something.

"What?" She snarled at him angrily as she took a menacing step in his direction.

"Nothin`" he said as he held his hands up in some form of surrender. She growled and stalked off the porch angrily, she hadn't gotten very far when she could hear Hershel yell, "Mitch! Wait! Come back here! All we're gonna do is talk!".

She could hear the desperation in his voice, he didn't want is only chance of a cure running off but she didn't care, she needed her space. She broke into a slow jog and easily jumped over the fence that was closest to the thick woods surrounding Hershel's house. She slowed her jog to a walk as she reached the tree line. Mitch turned around and saw an orange and black streak rushing towards her; she smiled as Sam stopped next to her panting loudly.

"C'mon boy." Mitch said softly as she walked into the forest. She walked loudly, not caring about the twigs and branches the snapped under her feet as she crashed through the woods. All she could hear was Hershel's words replaying in her head.

_ "You left because you knew that they were going to kill you so they could make a cure? Why not just sacrifice yourself? You could have saved so many lives if you did…isn't it worth it? One life for the rest of humanity?" Hershel asked gently, like she was some caged animal he was trying not to scare._

_ "Sorry…but I have this instinct called self-preservation." Mitch replied harshly._

_ "Well now's your second chance. I could do it, I could find the cure…I could…" Hershel said carefully, with a look in his eyes that screamed hunger. _

Mitch shivered from the memory as she surfaced back to reality. Sam was trotting along beside her as they moved through the forest. Mitch knew where her feet we're taking her, to the creek just north of the mining compound. It had been her favorite place ever since her fiancé John had proposed to her there. Even now that John was dead she was sure she'd still love the area. She could hear the water before she saw it…then…there it was.

The mist from the cool water filled the air, allowing the sunbeams that cut through the trees to glimmer softly. The small three foot waterfall bubbled and gurgled happily, and the crystal clear water gushed silently around the large mossy rocks that weren't fully submerged.

Mitch drew in a breath as she saw the spot again; she had always found it gorgeous. She saw the large flat rock that breached the waters' surface by only half an inch and sat only two feet from where the waterfall fell providing an extremely condensed mist that provided a small form of protection from the Georgia heat. It was on that very rock where John had proposed to her seven years ago. The flashback hit her suddenly…

_ John's strong arms wrapped around her waist possessively as he nuzzled his face into her short hair. Mitch leaned with her back against his chest as they sat on the large oval rock with their legs extended out in front of them. _

_ "I love you." His silky voice whispered in her ear as he gently kissed the side of her neck. Mitch smiled at the feeling, and his confession even though she had heard him say it a hundred times before._

_ "I love you too." Mitch replied softly as she tilted her head back against his chest and looked into his brown eyes. He gave a large toothy grin before his lips met hers slowly. Mitch gently licked his lower lip hoping he'd deepen the kiss but he pulled away._

_ "It's getting late, we should be getting back to the house." John said softly as he untangled his arms from her body and stood up._

_ "Yhea…I guess we should…" Mitch sighed softly disappointed that he had been giving her mixed signals the whole day. Mitch stood up and turned to jump onto a large boulder nearby when John spoke up._

_ "Mitch…" his voice sounded shaky, and the way he said her name was like a question. Mitch turned around quickly concerned, John had an unsure look on his face and she quickly wondered what was wrong._

_ "Yes?" Mitch asked carefully, as John stepped forward uncertainly and took her hand in both of his._

_ "I-I love you…so much." He said breathlessly as he looked in her eyes._

_ "I love you too." Mitch said back before chuckling softly, she had no idea why this boy felt he had to tell her he loved her every other minute._

_ "I-I can't even begin to imagine my life without you anymore. I've been practically obsessed with you ever since that day you saved my life…without you…I wouldn't even be here. You are the reason that I'm alive and breathing, you're the reason I even fought for my life all those years ago." John took a deep breath. Mitch wondered why he was even bringing up the CIA scandal; it wasn't one of her finest moments in her tarnished and dirty past. _

_ "John…you don't need to_No, let me finish." John cut her off quickly._

_ "I love you Mitch. And I __**need**__ you in my life…forever…" John trailed off again and let go of her hand allowing it to fall to her side before pulling a small black box out of his pocket and getting down on one knee._

_ "Michelle Miller…Will you marry me?" John asked softly as he opened the small box revealing a sparkling diamond and platinum ring._

Mitch stared at the ring on her left hand as the flashback subsided. She let out a lofty sigh as a few tears threatened to spill out. Sam whined and rubbed his head on her leg sensing her weakness. Mitch smiled softly before carefully picking her way to the large flat rock, trying to stay as dry as possible. Sam unable to follow her; whined loudly.

"Go back Sam…" Mitch ordered as Sam turned and started walking back the way they came before stopping and turning back to look at her again.

"Go on." Mitch ordered and Sam quickly trotted off out of view.

Mitch stood there, watching the ripples in the water for what must have been several minutes when she heard it.

The loud and distinctive snap of a thick branch from only a few feet behind her…

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**Sorry the first chapter is kind of slow...just trying to spend some time developing the new character. The next chapter should be a bit more interesting. **

**And, I know the series never shows anyone being immune to the zombie virus but I don't see why some slight brain abnormality might not stop the disease from growing enough to kill a person. There is a reason I made Mitch immune which will come into play at the end of the story...Anyways, always open to questions, comments, and constructive criticism.**

**Thanks! TWW 2486**


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

SEARCHING

* * *

_Shit._ Daryl thought as a thick branch broke under his foot, he quickly ducked down behind a bush hoping he hadn't been spotted. He peeked through the bush carefully; the woman that had arrived earlier was looking in his direction, gun drawn and ready to fire. _What'd that other chick call her?_ He racked his brain quickly before coming up with what he thought was the right answer…_Michelle_.

Daryl hadn't meant to wind up following and spying on her; he had been out looking for Sophia when he had noticed her walking by, making more noise than a herd of elephants and decided to see what she was up to. She ran a hand through her short hair and smiled slightly before holstering her gun. Daryl took it as a sign that she didn't think there was anything out in the woods, and that he was home free. But then her voice cut through the silence…

* * *

"Are you just gonna hide out there all day?" Mitch yelled in the direction she had heard the branch snap in. She wasn't stupid, and she knew it was probably one of Ricks' group keeping tabs on her. She waited a long moment and nothing happened.

"I'm not stupid. I know you're out there. Just come on out, I'm not gonna shoot you or eat your flesh or anything like that." She finished with a slight tone of humor at the end. _If these people could be more paranoid…Jesus…_

* * *

Daryl debated in his mind, if he didn't show himself she would probably come looking, if he did show himself…well at least she said she wouldn't shoot him…

_Stop bein' such a pussy, she's a girl, she can't hurt ya. _ He sighed loudly before standing up. Before she could tell him to stop he started to carefully navigate down the steep slope that led down to the creek.

* * *

Mitch immediately regretted calling him out. She stood there paralyzed for several seconds as he made his way towards the creek. A hundred different memories quickly flashed through her mind, all of them bad and all of them pertaining to her father. She had noticed this man when she first got to the farm, and she had made a mental note then to stay away from him. He just reminded her too damn much of her father.

The physical similarities where definitely there, the height and the thick stocky build; and the way he dressed, the old blue jeans, the boots, and the sleeveless flannel all screamed of backwoods living. Even the way he carried himself reminded her of her father…

_Shit…what the hell did I just get into? I can't be out here with him…especially not alone!_ She was screaming at herself mentally, of all the people...she'd feel safer with that near bald guy who made it obvious that he'd wanted to kill her. Mitch swallowed nervously as he stopped next to the creek bed for a moment before carefully stepping onto the closest surfaced boulder and made his way over to her.

* * *

Daryl stood there at the bank of the creek for a moment before becoming slightly annoyed. She told him to come out, now she was just going to stand there and stare forever? It was obvious that she wasn't going to move or say anything so he carefully picked his way across the boulders to where she was. As he finally stepped onto the large flat rock she was standing on she quickly took two steps back; obviously trying to put as much space between the two of them as she could, but she put a bit too much space and quickly lost her footing when she nearly stepped off the edge.

Daryl quickly lunged forward and grabbed her arm before she could fall into the water; he easily pulled her forward a step so that she was a good distance from the edge. She nearly stumbled into him before quickly regaining her footing and looking up at him as if slightly confused at what just happened. Slowly her senses came to, and she realized what happened. When she noticed that Daryls' hand was still wrapped around her arm she quickly yanked it out of his grasp. Daryl just gave her a speculating look in return as he let his hand fall to his side.

Daryl could tell just from her body language that she didn't trust him and that she was even a little scared of him. _Well then…_Daryls' thoughts trailed off as the silence between them began to become awkward. Daryl quickly cleared his throat before holding out his hand for her to shake, "I'm Daryl." He said trying his best not to come off as growly and hostile, but judging by the look she was giving him and his outstretched hand he probably wasn't doing a very good job of it.

After several more seconds of uncomfortable silence he let his hand fall to his side and sighed heavily. _Jesus, what's with her?_

* * *

The man that had just introduced himself as Daryl let his hand fall to his side and sighed loudly. _Why are you being such a jerk!? Just because he reminds you of Mike doesn't mean he's anything like him. Just introduce yourself and stop being such a damn fuck-tard! _Mitch scolded herself mentally for being so offstandish with the man who just saved her from an unwanted cold bath.

She swallowed, and hoped that her voice wouldn't come out too shaky, as she held out her hand for him to shake just as he had done earlier.

"I'm Michelle. Michelle Miller." Mitch said, not shakily but a bit too quietly for her liking.

Daryl gave her an almost questioning and speculative look before slowly reaching out and taking her hand. Mitch forced herself not to wince, but she couldn't help but tense up. Even his hand reminded her of Mike; rough, calloused, and large.

"Dixon." Daryl said as he quickly let go of her hand seeming to sense her discomfort.

"What?" Mitch asked slightly confused.

"My last name. Dixon." He answered. _Daryl Dixon…it fits. _Mitch thought to herself as she compared the name to the man standing in front of her.

"What are you doing out here?" They asked each other simultaneously except his way of asking was more like 'Watcha doin out ere'. Mitch noticed that he just sounded curious while she sounded hostile, and she quickly glanced down slightly ashamed.

"So…ya first." Daryl said as he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I just…needed some space…" Mitch replied doing her best to tone down the hostility. "You?".

"Lookin' for a little girl we lost. Should get back to it." He replied as he turned and started to pick his way across the boulders and back to the creek bed. _They lost a little girl…and he's the one out here looking for her…he can't be too bad. I should try to find her too, isn't that why I'm a cop? To help out others? _

"Daryl?" Mitch called out as he reached the creek bed and started to walk off. He stopped and turned around.

"Could you use some help?" She asked questioning herself as she asked him. She had to admit that currently she was more worried about the fact that she was actually feeling slightly forlorn at the sight of him leaving, than she was about finding the little girl.

"Long as ya ain't gonna trample through the woods like a herd a damn elephants." He called back as he turned back around and started to walk off again, apparently not caring whether or not she was going to follow. Mitch couldn't help but smile at the metaphor as she quickly jumped from boulder to boulder and made her way to the creek bed.

_Why are you going with him? You didn't even trust him half a minute ago…now you're following him around like some lost puppy…What's wrong with you? _Her brain questioned, she told herself it was because she cared about finding the little girl; but in reality she knew it was because she didn't like the way it felt when he had started to walk away…

* * *

Daryl knew she was following him, he had to admit he was slightly surprised that he couldn't hear her behind him, especially with how loud she had been earlier. They had gone quite a ways when the tree line stopped and they stepped out into the open. The ground below was churned up by machines, trees left where they fell to decompose into the scarred ground.

"This used to be an old mining compound. After they picked it clean they sold it to a logging company. They've been clear-cutting it ever since." Michelle said behind him, he turned to look at her and she glanced from him to the scene in front of them.

"Makes you think that maybe we deserved what we got…all we ever did was try to kill off this planet." She remarked, more to herself than him; but he couldn't help but agree slightly when he saw the hundreds of miles of fallen decomposing trees and the scarred earth.

"There anythin' else out this way?" He asked her, she seemed to have a pretty good idea of the geography here.

"There's an old little lodge down that way." Mitch said as she gestured to the east, "Probably about a mile from here. It hasn't been used by anyone but the owners for years now. ".

"Lead the way." Daryl replied, _little girl's bound ta go runnin` up ta the nearest buildin`._ Mitch eyed him almost suspiciously for a moment before walking off, leaving him to follow her. Daryl followed behind her with ease as he kept a strong lookout for any walkers. But as they continued on and the coast remained clear he couldn't help but lose himself in thought.

_Only day three, little girl's fine…hell I lasted more than three days when I got lost. I didn't have no flesh eatin` zombies out there with me though._ Daryl shook his head angrily as his thoughts grew gloomy about Sophia, _she's out here and I'mma find her._ He quickly convinced himself, as they pressed onward he quickly let his guard down once again and his thoughts began to drift to the woman in front of him.

_Wonder if she ever got herself lost like this…nah, probably had some fancy job in some big ass city, hell she probably grew up in a big ass city. Huh…wonder what her job used ta be, said she was an officer or some shit like that when she got here._

Daryl was suddenly ripped from his trancelike thoughts as Michelle spun around suddenly a look of worry on her face, before Daryl could respond she had flung herself into him throwing him to the ground and falling on top of him. Daryl couldn't help but wonder what was going on, everything was happening so quickly…then he saw the bloodied and gory face of the walker just as the bullet exploded through its head splattering the dark red goop on the nearby trees and ground. The walker remained standing for only a few more seconds before it crumpled and fell on top of them.

Michelle was the first one to push the disgusting dead corpse off of them and scramble to her feet as she quickly holstered her gun. Daryl looked from the glassy dead eyes of the gnawed on corpse to the woman standing in front of him, fresh blood slowly trickling down her arm from her shoulder.

* * *

"Jesus! Don't you watch where the hell you're going!?" Mitch yelled at him angrily as Daryl quickly picked himself up off the ground and shot her a glare.

"Didn't ask for your help…don't need it." He replied gruffly as he rolled the walker onto its back and quickly checked its mouth for signs that it fed recently.

"Fucking asshole!" Mitch snarled furiously and she turned to the nearest tree and punched it as hard as she could, sending bits of bark falling to the ground. Still furious she uncurled her fingers and dug her nails into the bark, hoping the pain would calm her down.

"Excuse me?" Daryl asked his tone of voice icy as she heard him turn towards her. Mitch flung her arm down to her side violently as she spun around to face him, sending huge chunks of bark flying from the tree and getting splinters up in her nail beds.

"You heard me." Mitch growled as she stalked up to him until they were only a foot apart.

"You're right, I did hear ya. I was just givin` ya a chance ta change your choice a words." Daryl ground out as he stepped forward and obliterated the small space Mitch had left between them. As Mitch looked into his angry, cold blue eyes she felt some of the fear that she had felt initially return. Part of her wanted to crumple onto the ground and beg him not to deliver the beating that she was sure he was going to deliver…but the other part of her told her to suck it up, take it like a man, and dish it right back at him. Mitch held her ground and stared him down with as much spite as he was giving her, every muscle tensed and ready for the impending conflict.

* * *

He was pissed, every fiber in his being wanted to lash out at her and put her back into her place but he managed to keep his cool. Daryl Dixon was many things, most of which were degenerate; but he was certainly not a woman beater. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath hoping to calm down, _Come on now man, she did just save your life…_Daryl slowly opened his eyes feeling just slightly calmer and he once again noticed the blood trickling down her arm.

He reached out to pull her closer and get a better look at the wound when she flinched away from his hand like a beaten dog. He couldn't help but knot his brow as he looked down at her, he had a pretty strong idea of why she had been acting so strange around him; now his suspicions had just been confirmed.

"Christ woman. I'm not gonna hurt ya`. Just lemme look at your arm." He growled as he grabbed her lower arm and pulled her close enough to look at her shoulder.

"It bit ya…" he trailed off as he carefully examined the wound, and gently prodded the tender flesh around it. It wasn't too bad; only two of its teeth grazed her and left two deep gashes in her arm that could easily be mistaken for scratch marks attained from walking into the low branches of a tree.

"Better me than you…at least I'll live, it probably would have killed you." She replied softly, all of the former rage gone.

"Why'd ya do it?" Daryl asked as he let go of her arm and let it fall to her side.

"Do what?" Mitch asked slightly confused.

"Why'd ya save me? Ya don't know me. I'm just another stranger ta ya. So why'd ya do it?" Daryl rephrased his original question.

"It's what I do." Mitch replied with a shrug, "I keep people safe, regardless of whether I know them or not." She finished as she turned around and started walking off again leaving Daryl to follow her.

"You're gonna get yourself killed…Bein` a hero in a world like this" Daryl called out softly as he started to follow her.

"So be it. Better me than anyone else…" Mitch scoffed just loud enough for Daryl to hear as she continued onward.

* * *

Mitch came to a stop at the tree line, and Daryl paused beside her as they looked at the large old cabin that was a dingy whit with a red roof.

"That's it." Mitch said softly and Daryl nodded before taking his crossbow off his back, notching an arrow, and starting towards it. Mitch followed him silently to the front door of the cabin watching around them for signs of any more walkers as she pulled her gun from its holster. Daryl kicked the double doors in front of them open, ready to fire his crossbow at any moment as he walked into the house. Mitch followed behind him, and helped him check the rooms, silently cursing the squeaky floorboards. He turned to her after he checked the two doors to his left, and she motioned toward the room she had just deemed clear.

Daryl nodded as he followed her into the room she had just cleared. While Mitch cleared the room connected to the kitchen/pantry room they were in she noticed Daryl leaning down and pulling an empty can from the trash and sniffing it.

_Eww…gross._ Mitch couldn't help but think to herself. Daryl tipped the can to its side and let the juices flow out of it and into the trash. _At least it's fresh…_Mitch then noticed the wooden door in front of them was hanging partially open. She gently tapped Daryl on the shoulder, when he looked up at her she pointed to the door, he glanced at it and nodded quickly.

Daryl lifted his bow and carefully crept forward, he grabbed the handle on the door and quickly pulled it open. As it creaked open Mitch quickly realized it was just a pantry filled with cans and a few small boxes. _At least there isn't a walker…_Mitch noticed Daryl looking at the ground, when she glanced down she saw the small makeshift bed. The thin grey blanket and the striped pillow, _She was here…at one point…_When she looked up she noticed Daryl looking at her, he nodded toward the entrance and she carefully left the room and walked back outside.

Mitch had just descended the steps when she heard Daryl yell behind her, "Sophia!". Mitch wanted to scold him, but knew she would probably do the same if she was him. He descended the stairs behind her and quickly walked to the right, "Sophia!" he called out again. When no reply came he walked back over to her when he seemed to notice something in front of them and walked forward before kneeling down in front of a flowering bush. _What the…_Mitch's thoughts trailed off as she carefully followed behind him. She noticed him toying with the stem of one of the flowers between his fingers before quickly plucking it from the bush and standing up.

Mitch couldn't help but chuckle softly as he turned around and twirled it between his fingers.

"What?" he asked softly as he looked up from the flower.

"Nothing…I just didn't peg you as the type of person who really appreciated flowers…" Mitch trailed off.

"It's a Cherokee Rose…you heard the legend?" he asked as he shouldered his crossbow.

"No." Mitch replied, in fact she had never even heard of the flower.

"Well, they grown out a the spots where mournin` mothers cried for their lost little ones." Daryl replied as he gently touched one of the pure white petals before looking up to see her response.

"Sounds legit…" Mitch replied with a smirk and a shrug as she leaned down and picked up an old green beer bottle lying next to the bush.

"What?" Daryl asked her the look on his face spelling out pure confusion.

"Legit…" Mitch trailed off as she took the beer bottle and grabbed Daryls free hand before carefully uncurling his fingers and wrapping them around the bottle, "is Californian slang…" Mitch trailed off again as she took Daryls hand that was holding the flower and placed the stem in the bottle, "for the word legitimate." She finished as she stepped back.

"Huh…" Daryl grunted as he looked down at the old bottle holding the pure white flower.

"It's getting late…it'll be dark soon. I'm going to head back." Mitch said softly as she walked past Daryl and started off in the direction of the farm.

"Wait…you're from California?" Daryl asked as he quickly rushed to catch up to her.

"Yhea." Mitch replied simply as she ducked under a low hanging branch.

"How'd ya manage? I mean ya traveled from California ta Georgia…and ya made it...how? Is it any better down there?" Daryl quickly bombarded her with questions.

"No. It's just as bad down there…if not worse. And the only reason I'm still here is because I'm immune. I never would've made it otherwise." Mitch replied grimly and ignored the look of disappointment on Daryls face.

The rest of the walk back to the farm was silent. Mitch led the way while Daryl seemed to be aimlessly drifting along behind her. Finally they reached the dirt driveway in front of the Greene house and Mitch stopped hesitantly, still unsure of whether or not to trust the house and the people living inside. Mitch noticed Daryl stop beside her and shuffle his feet almost uncomfortably.

"I've got some stuff I gotta take care of…" Daryl said after a moment of slightly awkward silence. As he turned and started walking away Mitch quickly glanced over at him before looking back at the house.

"See ya round later." She just barely heard Daryl grunt out as he walked out of earshot. Mitch took a deep steading breath before walking towards the house.

* * *

**Authors Notes:**

Sorry the chapter's a little long. I couldn't really find a functional cut off point that would work well. Also, I'm sure that you've all figured it out by now but just for future reference Italics are thoughts, and I'm only ever going to switch between Mitch's and Daryl's POVs...and I promise I'll try not to overlap them too much.

Thank you to all those who added the story to their favorite or follow lists! Feel free to leave comments, suggestions, etc.

TWW2486


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